It’s official; there are now more fat people than skinny people in the world. Obesity is the biggest health crisis on the planet. For the first time in history children are facing shorter lives than their parents. The world’s health systems face an approaching tsunami of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Unfortunately New Zealand is leading the way. A million New Zealand adults are already obese, and another 1.25 million are significantly overweight - which means a staggering 64% of New Zealanders are now either obese or overweight. In the developed world, only Americans are fatter.

So how did this happen? How did we go from obesity rates of 9%, to 30% in less than a generation? Why Are We Fat? explains the reasons for our rapid weight gain and looks at what we can do about it.

Presented by Chef Simon Gault, this three-part documentary series examines the science behind obesity and the looming health crisis. Simon talks to experts from around the world and becomes a human guinea-pig in an attempt to improve his own health.

EPISODE GUIDE

Simon puts himself through other medical tests including finding out his fat to muscle ratio in the “bod pod” at Massey University and using an MRI machine to gauge how much of his fat is visceral fat. Shocked to learn the true state of his health, Simon commits to making some serious changes so he can live longer and overcome his diabetes.

In part two of Prime’s documentary series, Why Are We Fat?, Simon tackles one of his most-hated activities – exercise. First up, a cardio-vascular fitness test so the team at AUT’s Millennium Institute can prescribe the most appropriate exercise for Simon – short, sharp resistance training and high-intensity interval training.

BIO

Simon Gault

Simon Gault

Simon Gault is a well-known New Zealand chef and restauranteur that has worked both here and internationally at a vast array of establishments including Leiths restaurant in London and at the prestigious, Michelin-starred Thornbury Castle. He has also formally been the personal chef to the likes of billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and prior to that, personal chef to Simon Fuller. When asked what his favourite recipe was, Kevin Roberts, Worldwide CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, replied ‘Simon Gault’s telephone number’.

Simon is the former Executive Chef of the Nourish Group, a collection of multi-award winning restaurant brands that includes Euro Bar & Restaurant, FISH and Jervois Steakhouse in Auckland, Bistro Lago in Taupo, Jervois Steak House in Queenstown and Shed 5, Pravda and The Crab Shack in Wellington and Auckland. Earlier in 2017 he opened Giraffe by Simon Gault in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour, where home grown is front and centre, showcasing the finest local producers and growers New Zealand has to offer.

Simon has proved himself to be an innovator, a pioneer and a leader over many years and along the way his talents have been recognised by the industry, winning the New Zealand Restaurant Association Innovator of the Year Award, the Lewisham Awards, Chef of the Year and Outstanding Hospitality Personality of the Year. He was inducted into the New Zealand Restaurant Association Hall of Fame, named as the Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in the Services Category and most recently honoured with the 2015 AUT School of Hospitality and Tourism award for Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality and Tourism Community.

Off the back of his personal health journey in Why Are We Fat?, Simon has produced Gault's Tomato Ketchup which is 100% sweetened by vegetables.